Midnight Essence
by Shadow Foxhound
Summary: [Robin Raven Dante] The silent whisper of the inner demon within, her blood, the capacity to become what she dreads, Raven finds herself reliving a child's fairytale. Robin recovering an unfamiliar emotion towards Raven he's never felt before.
1. Chapter 1

"It would be best if we leave it here." Raven suggested, her impromptu once more unappreciated.

It was a sword, but not like any other. It was long and slender, the handle was diamond embedded, with white and ebony. The blade itself was neatly sharpened, not something that was recently neglected. Its edge was sunk into the ground, and there were no incantations whatsoever.

"No, whoever this guy is, is likely to be dangerous. Who carries a sword as deadly as this?" Robin inquired. The Titans had arrested Cinderblock, until they came about the sword implanted at the shore of the tower. Raven knelt down beside the team leader, realizing a strange aura coming from it.

Her memory glinted off, flashing past vague memories that traced to the sword in front of her. The faint memoir of the Yamato Katana ricochet directly to her thoughts. She barley recalled who it was in custody with, in fact, she didn't know at all.

She thought it would be best to reassure that she knew what it was, but who was she kidding? She would only put the leader in apprehensive security, and leave the rest of the team to worry that the sword's presence was there for a reason, lest aware that it might deal with Raven herself.

"Come on, its half past ten, and I need to hit the sack." Beast Boy complained from his perch next to them. "What's the big deal? We shouldn't worry unless the guy tries to murder us."

"BB, if you haven't realized it, we're on an island separated from the city. Anyone could still see a giant T on it. But not just anyone would go through the trouble to cross the ocean area separating us from them and plant a sword on the shore." Cyborg impatiently supplied.

"Please, we shall not let ourselves consume worry with this weapon. It is possibly Cinderblock trying to scare us." Starfire stated her theory.

"We already interrogated Cinderblock. Plus, it's not like he's the kind of guy who would wield a sword." Robin informed.

"Yeah, the dude's half rock." Beast Boy piped in. Raven remained silent throughout the conversation, when its presence was identified to her only. She stood up, and Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy launched into an argument to leave it alone or not.

Robin ignored their conversation, until he sensed something wrong about Raven's silent silhouette behind him. He whirled around.

"Is there anything you might know about it?" Robin inquired. Raven gazed up at him.

"No, nothing. We should just leave it alone, It is a possibility that it might be a mistake here. It's best that we just tighten security." She replied.

"Um, okay. That sounds alright." He noticed her gaze flicker away, deep in thought. "You do know something about it, don't you?" He strongly asked. The three stopped quarreling long enough to notice Robin's accusation. Raven's brow furrowed.

"I don't know anything about it! If I know something about it, it's a sword." She innocently responded.

"Okay, sorry. Come on guys, she's right. We'll just set up the motion sensors for the night." Robin ordered. Raven gave a final glance at it as they strode inside the comforts of their home.

Dante strongly fought against the demons, widely swinging his sword, the Rebellion in an arc, diagonally severing a demon in half. He retrieved ebony and ivory, his guns from his back and perfectly aimed and assassinated several demons in a swift succession.

Out of spite, Dante found himself grinning cockily at the notion that this was his new job. He owned a one-man agency that he hasn't named yet. His purpose was to run the shop and assault demons in hopes of finding the ones who killed his mother.

Also the fact that he needed a living on earth. He hasn't fully recuperated from his demonic ways, he knows that he never will. He gazed around, not in the least intimidated by the silent shadows of the night. There weren't any unfamiliar silhouettes.

With that on his mind, he placed the Rebellion sword on his back, and pocketed his Ebony and Ivory pistols. He heaved open his shop doors, greeted by the welcoming aromatic scent of his lingering cheese pizza. Hell, he still had his likes and dislikes.

Over the past few months, Raven had grown her hair a bit past her shoulders, letting it hang loosely to earn recognition from her team. Also to stop Starfire's persistent rants about it. She slid open her doors to be welcomed by her shadowed domain.

She sighed deeply on content as she laced off her cloak and hung it on a peg. She strode over to the comforts of her bed and she drew her blanket up to her chin, shivering slightly. She exhaled, but she surprisingly saw her wisp of breath visibly dissipate in the air.

She gaped at her surprise visibility of breath, even at the notion that her thermometer only read seventy five degrees. She sat up, and exhaled once more, this time, her breath wasn't visible to he passerby.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos," She muttered silently to herself, the familiar chant never ceasing to be of assistance. "I'm losing it," She scolded herself. As she silently lay her head against her pillows, her gaze automatically drifted to her open window.

Her mind rapidly flashed through her day. She never opened her window. She aggressively sat up, torn between minor disturbances and her precious sleep. She strode over to her window across the room, the curtains flapping allegedly in the oceanic breeze. She jerked the window closed, but as she fingered the lock, a hand was placed over hers.

"We don't want that now, do we?" A voice hissed. Raven's charka flashed tremendously, and she felt her telekinetic power surging through her. She yanked her hand away from his, and thrust her powers into the shadowed silhouette. Her eyes grew wide in astonishment as he powers surged right through him.

The voice eerily laughed without humor.

"There's nothing stronger than your telekinetic power, Raven." The shadow made a savored step into the moonlight of her window. A blue cloaked figure clad with the Yamato Katana on his back, and spiked back silver hair was lit with illumination.

"Who are you? You're the one who planted that Katana at the shore of the tower." She persisted.

"That was me. You may not know who I am, Raven. But I know a lot about you. Your power, your agility, your strength. You have the capacity to create the portal to the underworld. You have the potential to serve as the true demon your blood has." He claimed.

"To create a portal? Ha, you think you know about me, but I am a portal. I serve as Trigon's slave!" She hissed.

"More than you serve as a daughter, yes. But you are half demon, Raven. You have your ways to become more demon than human." He demanded.

"Shut up! Who the hell are you?" She hollered.

"I…am Vergil. One of the sons of Sparda." He introduced himself clearly. "You are Raven. The daughter of Trigon."

"What do you want from me? No way you can be a son of Sparda!" She demanded. "That was two millenniums ago!" She persisted.

"The sons of Sparda have devil blood in them. I have that in me, Raven." He stepped closer to her, and she stood back pre cautiously. Vergil closed his eyes, and threw back his head, giving out a scream in strength.

For a mere second, legendary symbols appeared in blue around him, and a sapphire wave of demonic field surrounded him, and both of them dissipated, and there before her eyes lay the unmistaken demon, the blue creature that had haunted her thoughts that his proved he was truly the son of Sparda.

The demon had the sapphire skin, the sword still on his back, but charged with devil power. It had a strange aura coming from him, the air around him wavered.

"Do you believe me now?" The voice was a complete octave lower, with a gravelly demonic voice tied with it. Raven stood back, distancing herself from him.

"What do you want from me?" She whispered. Vergil clenched his fists, and the devil trigger stopped, once more, symbols appeared momentarily around him, and the demonic wave of force was thrown from him. He resumed human.

There came a hastened knock on her door.

"Raven? Are you in there?" Robin's query came.

"Perhaps some other time." Vergil commented, throwing open the window, he leapt strongly from it, and Raven craned her head down to watch him. Vergil landed perfectly on his feet.

"I'm coming, Robin." Raven exasperatedly responded, thrusting the window shut. She sprinted across the room and the door slid open, detecting her body heat.

"Are you okay?" He inquired, his staff in hand. A worried expression was splayed across his face. "I heard screaming." He persisted, withdrawing his staff.

"I'm fine. What did you hear?" She tiredly moaned.

"Nothing, sorry. I thought it was your room." He cautiously backed away, his hands innocently in the air.

"No, it's okay. Do you always work this hard?" She head herself ask.

"Well, yeah. I mean, you're a teammate." He informed. "I just don't want you to get hurt." He continued.

"Yeah, save your warm gush for Starfire. Goodnight." She shut the door.

"Yeah, goodnight," Robin's muffled response showed eager timing.

The next sunset, after their recent arrest of Adonis and their celebratory pizza, Robin received a distress call about a threat in town.

"Dude, we've been fighting Adonis the whole day! Not to mention the lunch we skipped, how many times his suit had the capacity to teleport him elsewhere, and finding him again, and then he disappears again!" Beast Boy complained.

"This guy's seriously dangerous. We have to go." Robin leapt from his perch at the table and sprinted over to his R-Cycle. He glanced at his communicator. "Titans, go!" He hollered.

Dante mercilessly thrust his Rebellion sword into a demon who attempted to pierce him with the scythe. He plagued his pistols Ebony and Ivory in a wide arc, for the long range scuffles of the demons far away.

He drew out his sword once more, performing his _million stab _technique to another demon. He aerial raved several demons and at the last resort, equipped himself with his pistols one more, ending the lives of yet another hustle of them. They fell, and dissipated into chestnut dust.

Dante was a devil, with his famous trademark red cape. On his back held his weapons. He had dark gray pants, and hardcore boots. He had long silver hair that was usually tucked behind his neck, its edges barley brushing the collar of his cape. The cape had tightened sleeves, and the cape draped down to his ankles, an inch or two before it reached the ground.

He had black gloves with open fingers, and not to mention his demonic sapphire eyes covered partially by his silver hair. The cape showed his bare chest, not fastened with a brooch, but with a single brown strap.

He placed his Rebellion sword on his back and tried not to acknowledge his surroundings. The demons had tried to ambush him in his shop during the current sunset, which was completely trashed from their fight.

He grimaced. His pool table was sliced in two, his desk was overturned. A steady creaking came from above. He glanced up. His ceiling fan collapsed with a clatter, shattering in different parts.

The man who had come in the shop, summoning the demons, was obviously assisting Dante's twin brother, Vergil. Dante strode over to his jukebox, and pre cautiously pressed a button. Nothing happened. He disappointedly kicked it with the heel of his shoe.

"Damn it," He muttered, glancing at his store surroundings again. "Whatever," He murmured, striding over to his desk to retrieve some bullets for his pistols, when he heard the door open. He drew out his gun and aimed it across the room, where seemingly five teenagers stood.


	2. Chapter 2

He seems at least a few years older than us, Raven thought. She prepared to shield them when Dante lowered his gun slightly.

"Who the hell are you guys?" Dante inquired, a hint of cockiness in his voice.

"The Teen Titans," Robin replied pre cautiously, his staff in hand. "Who're you?" He quirked his mask. Dante hesitated, his gun still pointed at them.

"Dante," He responded, completely lowering his gun. "So what the hell do you want here?" He airily inquired. Raven glanced at the sword on his back. Suddenly, seeing him approach them, she mightily wished that she had short hair and a hood. Now with longer hair, she couldn't wear her hood.

"We're the Teen Titans," Robin repeated. "We thought you were some kind of threat." He noted the sword on Dante's back.

"Threat? The only thing that should be afraid of me is the underworld demons." He informed. "You guys got any names?" He gestured over them, hesitant on Raven.

"Yeah, I'm Robin. That's Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire, and that's Raven." He introduced. Dante strode purposefully over to her.

"Raven, huh? What are you supposed to be?" He inquired, the cockiness still in his voice. Raven pondered.

"I'm…from Azarath," She was hesitant, pre-cautious since Dante killed demons.

"A demon, huh?" At this, Robin tensed up, aware that Raven was a demon, and Dante assassinated them. "You look so familiar, I should know you." He paced in front of her, his gaze flickering to the ground in thought.

"Why? Planning to kill me?" Raven interrogated. She planted her feet down instead of levitating, and her hands glowed to ebony. Dante glanced up in surprise.

"Whoa, slow down, babe. Of course not!" He innocently replied.

"Don't call me that." Raven dangerously persisted.

"Whatever, lady. By any chance, aren't you the daughter of Trigon?" He inquired. Raven's stunned expression only entertained him. "Are you?"

"I…I am," She cautiously whispered. "What's it to you?" She queried.

"Well, nothing really. It's a wild guess. I mean, nobody else survived the Azarath incident with Trigon. Your charka was a giveaway." He concluded.

"Oh, well, what are you? You seem to not be from earth." Raven remarked.

"Course not. I'm," He hesitated, glancing at the other Titans. They were completely toned in. "I'm definitely from here. I just…hunt demons for a living. This is my one-man agency. Well, used to be." He added, acknowledging the messed up shop. "So what do you guys do? Arrest the innocent?" He mocked.

"No, we fight evil. Something that seems to be a big part of your life too. But anyway, someone sent us a distress call saying you were dangerous." Robin informed. "Seems to me, you're not."

"Course I'm not." He strode purposefully towards his overturned desk and jerked open a drawer, where bullets for his pistols were housed. He armed them.

"Well, whatever, we're done here. He seems pretty innocent to me." Cyborg piped up.

"Well, yeah. Okay, Dante. Sorry if we interrupted…anything." Robin persisted. From his spot in leaning against the wall and arming his guns, Dante glanced up them darkly.

"Whatever, just get out of here." He warned.

"Sorry, dude," Beast Boy added. The Titans cautiously strode out the door, but Raven was hesitant. She glanced back at him. He was grinning cockily at her. Raven smirked humorlessly and followed them out the door.

"Arkham," Vergil said. A man clad in black, with a scar on his face stepped out of the shadows beside him. He was in possession with a red book, clutching it loosely.

"Well, it seems the girl's met Dante," Arkham commented.

"She'll serve as the demonic portal to revive the Temen-ni-gru. The power of Sparda will be released." Vergil reminded.

"Along with the devil's blood, of course," Arkham insisted.

"Of course. Does Dante have it?" Vergil inquired.

"Yes, he has the other half of the pendant. After all, it's the only thing your mother left of her to you and him." Arkham replied. At this, Vergil lifted the pendant from his neck to gaze at it.

"The revival of the Temen-ni-gru will be complete. Raven will serve as the portal. Like she served for her own father." Vergil remarked.

"You have yet to tell her." Arkham responded.

"She'll know of it. Soon enough." Vergil concluded.

Raven was absentmindedly taking a walk that night, grazing thought the fact that she had a conversation that sunset with a demon hunter. She sensed that he was more than that. There was something about him, more than a human.

She sensed an aura coming from him, like when Vergil had morphed into a demon before her eyes. Raven stopped in her wake, wondering if it could be true. The legendary Sparda had an offspring with a human woman named Eva. The two twins, Vergil and Dante, two demons that were half human.

Hell, Raven should have recognized his name before. She used her telekinetic power to surround herself in a portal shaped as an eagle and she disappeared meekly into thin air. She reappeared at the front doors of Dante's demon hunting shop.

Without warning, Raven heaved open the front doors, finding the room illuminated with a single bulb above her. She found the room still trashed the way they had left it, except the desk was turned back up.

She abruptly heard footsteps echoing along the hallway with the familiar red cape hanging on a peg next to the door. The door next to the pegged cape opened, and there came Dante, who was viciously shaking the shower water out of his hair with his hands.

He was stripped down to his dark pants and hardcore boots. There was also a pendant linked to a silver chain around his neck. He abruptly stopped shaking the dampness out of his hair with his hands when he saw her.

"Well look who's here." He began, striding easily over to her, not intimidated by her death glare.

"Well look who's not." She attempted to leave the shop, turning her back when she felt a hand land heavily on her shoulder.

"Come on, Raven? Was it?" He stood back pre-cautiously as she whirled around darkly. "You know you came here for a reason. I mean I don't blame you. Nobody can resist me." He replied.

"I sure can." Raven responded, the bitter taste still though her lips.

"Okay, lady, just tell me. Nobody thinks twice about entering a demon hunting agency. They used to think that I needed to be sent to an insane asylum," at this, he sensed her suppressing her chortle with difficulty. "But now, with all these demons on the loose, they believed me afterwards when I came before their heads were cut off with a scythe. I left some particular ones die. Didn't feel like saving lawyers unless they shove the bill up their ass." He humorlessly added.

"Some savior," Raven murmured.

"Yeah, you can say that." He replied. "So you're the great daughter of Trigon." He remarked, circling her slowly, pretending to observe every angle. "I have my secrets also, you know." He acknowledged her with a spin of his sword. She winced as he implanted it into the wooden ground beneath them.

"Dante, I have something to ask, that's the only reason I came here. A favor, actually." She added. He acknowledged her impromptu with interest.

"Yeah?"

"I…Think I know who you really are." She quietly stated. Dante stood back cautiously.

"Who am I? Don't you know that already?" He obnoxiously queried.

"I know you're Dante, but not the Dante I think you are." She continued. A moment of silence held in the air. "I think…You're Dante, one of the sons of Sparda." She strongly persisted. He was hesitant, until his sigh broke the dead silence.

"I am, Raven. I'm Dante, your personal demonic piece of the underworld. You're part demon yourself. You know what it's like to be treated that way." He turned his back to her, jerking his Rebellion out of the ground. "If I was just any other human, I'd have killed you as soon as I knew you were part demon. That's why I didn't. I don't kill my own kind, only the underworld demons, those killers that don't have part human, the heartless."

He strode to his desk, placing the Rebellion on his bare back.

"Of course I know what it's like to be treated differently because you're part demon. But I never knew that the sons of Sparda truly existed. I thought it was only a fantasy. Until I saw your brother, Vergil." She spoke. Dante felt himself tense up.

"Vergil?" He inquired, finally turning around to face her. "He met you?" He queried.

"Yeah. He showed his devil trigger. He said something to be about serving as the underworld portal." She said. He hesitantly threw his head back in a humorless laughter.

"So he needs you as the portal for the revival of the Temen-ni-gru."


	3. Chapter 3

"The Temen-ni-gru?" Raven whispered.

"The one and only. From there, he'll need the demonic blood, then the two pendants together for the retrieval of Sparda's legendary power." He quirked a brow. "What? Never believed in the child's fairytale?" He inquired monotonously.

"No, the Temen-ni-gru? It can't be. Its purpose was in opening a gateway to the demon world in order to allow the Prince of Darkness Mundus and his minions through." She remarked. He shrugged.

"Yeah. Legend has it that one of the demon world's own, the demon swordsman Sparda, my father, awoke to justice and fought against the legions of the demon world, in the end defeating Mundus, sealing the gate, and suppressing the tower. However, in doing so, he sealed his own devil's power beyond the gate, contained within the demon-forged sword Force Edge." He reminded.

"Why does Vergil want to open the portal to the demon world?" Raven inquired. "It'll only bring hell to you and Earth." She continued.

"He doesn't give a damn about me or earth. He doesn't think like my father. He didn't awake to justice. He wants the power of Sparda all to himself. But he can't do anything without this." He held up the pendant in his hand. It consisted a ruby orb, supported by a silver frame.

"A pendant?"

"No matter how far he gets, even using you as the portal, he can't get that power of Sparda without this. Even with his demonic blood and the portal, he'll need this. Of course, I'm not willing to give it." He let it hang limply to fall to his chest still connected to the silver chain.

"Is there any way to stop him?" She queried weakly. Dante smirked feverishly, then his eyes sharply held a demonic glimmer in them. Raven didn't have time to acknowledge it when he spoke.

"You're the portal, Raven. The only way to stop the Temen-ni-gru is killing you." The murderous look ni his eyes became clear to her now. She was thinking he wants to kill her to stop the revival of the Temen-ni-gru. To prove her theory, Dante held a gun up to her face.

"What are you…" Her eyes were wide with fear, aware that her powers surged through people with demon blood in them, her peformance was recalled when she had tried it on Vergil when she first met him.

But she instinctively closed her eyes when she heard the trigger pulled. The gunshot echoed through the room, and there came the sickening thud of bullet against flesh. For a moment, Raven thought a miracle flooded through her fate. She slit open her eyes cautiously.

The gun had been aimed past her head, the barrel clearly inches from her ear. Moments ago, she had heard the bullet's swiftness sear past her. She glanced behind her, and her eyes caught a dead demonic creature, armed with a scythe, a bullet in its head.

She savored looking back at him. He was grinning widley at her.

"Do you have to be so cocky all the time?" She irritably complained.

"Well, it was about to kill you. Something I don't want to happen to you." He innocently replied. Raven found herself weakly smiling. He didn't intened to kill her at all in the first place.

"Thought I'd pull the trigger on you?" He openly teased. He placed the gun in waist of his jeans.

"Course not," She quietly muttered. The familiar but persistent communicator rang loudly in her ears.

"Duty calls?" He bordley queried. She ignored his stares as she drew out her communicator and she flipped it open begrudginly.

"What?" she hissed. The static faded away, and there came the clear sillhouette of Robin. A look of concern splayed across his expression.

"Raven? Are you okay?" He inquired. She sighed.

"Better than ever. I'm just taking a walk." She informed.

"Yeah? Well that doesn't look like open air to me." He mutttered. Raven glanced up at the gaping ceiling, the fan rotating rapidly.

"I'm just visiting someone." She calmly responded. Robin felt his heart shatter painfully.

"Visiting someone? Do we know him? Or her?" He added hastily.

"Course you know him. You met this person a long time ago." She supplied.

"Who the hell is it?" He angrily lost his temper. He felt his patience snap clearly in two, feeling an emotion he's never felt for her before. She was hesitant. Dante intervened.

"Hey bird boy, it's me. What? You gave Raven a curfew because it's more time away from your bedroom?" He snatched the communicator from her hand. Raven grimaced sickly, Robin felt a rush of fury writhe inside him as Dante's face took the screen.

"What are you guys doing?" Robin airily hissed.

"Catching up on history. Don't worry, she's fine." Dante bordley replied.

"Yeah? Well tell her that she's not free to talk to demon hunters that have interest in killing her type." Came a voice not from the communicator. Dante and Raven glanced up in surprise at the front door, which was open ajar.

There stood the familiar poise of Robin. He had the communicator in one hand, his other hanging limp by his side. Dante raised an eyebrow.

"Well, well, well? Should have guessed." Dante closed the communicator and tossed it back to Raven.

"Raven, what are you doing here?" Robin queried.

"I have my reasons." She muttered as he approached them.

"Save it, I heard everything I needed to hear." Robin informed sharply. Dante cringed. "So you're part demon as well?" Robin queried.

"Sure, you can say so. I just don't like being aware that other people know my secrets." Dante replied.

"You sure seem to let her know."

"That's because she's part demon. She knows what its like to be me. To be treated differently among other people. She understands me better than anyone in this world." Dante persisted.

"Well you better start talking. Raven's my teammate. I don't want anything happening to her. But nobody wants to kill her either. Is there anyway to stop the Temen-ni-gru from coming either than that?" He impatiently asked.

"Looks like someone has a profession of eavesdropping. Like I said, the Temen-ni-gru is useless without the two pendants. He has one half, I have the other. This brings out the power of Sparda. But a step or two before that, the remains of the tower would revive when he drops demonic blood into the edifice. Course he can do that by himself." Dante informed.

"How does the portal for the Temen-ni-gru come from her? Does she have to do it willingly? Or is she forced?" Robin heard himself ask. Dante glanced at Raven with deepened pity.

"She doesn't do it willingly. It's not as easy as the portal of Trigon. Nothing can hold Vergil back." Dante ranted.

"So how?" Robin interrogated. Dante held his head down slightly.

"How? Didn't you figure it out already? Vergil has to kill her for her to become the portal." Dante soflty insited. A moment of silence intervened their conversation. Raven's wide amethist eyes were filled with fear and shock, Robin was quiet, Dante was gazing at her with no expression.

"That's not going to happen." Robin finally demanded. "Is he the specific person to do it? We can probably keep an eye on him, but just to know, is there anyone else that has to kill her so we can watch him too?" He continued.

"A son of Sparda, me or him in other words, has to kill her. I'm not going to do it." Dante hesitantly replied.

"I trust you're not." Robin spoke.

Later on that night, after Raven and Robin finally left his shop, they never even gave each other a glance as she teleported them back to the tower, and she strode of to her dark domain. She felt a hand on her shoulder before she came within arm distance of her bedroom door.

"Raven, are you okay?" Robin's protective statement finally came. She gazed up at him as she angled her body to face him.

"I'm fine. Just a little shaken," She quietly responded. She felt her emotions go weak as she felt tears well up at her eyes, a stinging pain in them. She was going to bring a worse hell to the world, her friends. She was always the cause of what seemed to be their biggest pain.

Robin's mask filled with pity as he saw a tear roll down her cheek.

"Raven, its okay." He stood closer to her, placing his other hand on her shoulder. He watched silently as a tear tenderly caressed her skin. "Really, it's not your fault." He whispered.

"It is, Robin! Trigon almost took over the world because of me. Now I find myself bringing a stronger underworld demon to this world, because of me. What's there to not blame?" She held her head down, suddenly interested in the floor. There was nothing to find in Robin's eyes.

"Raven, I don't want you to think like that. We'll get out of this. Together. Like we have before. You're existence here on earth means more to me than it does to anyone else." Robin stepped closer to her, barley an inch between themselves.

"My existence? I've brought you pain, and misery. I don't belong here. Starfire has no threat to bring. She belongs here. There's a major difference between her perfect past and mine. Admit it, I don't bring peace to the world no matter how much crime fightning I do. I only bring the deaths of lives." She confessed.

Robin didn't speak as her tears finally came, she didn't hide them. Raven felt ashamed of herself, crying in front of her team leader. He clutched her shoulders tighter.

"Raven," He whispered. She glanced meekly up into his masked eyes. He pressed his lips against her's, closing the distance between them. Her eyes widened in astonishment, then she let her lips drop partially.

The silence emitted by both of them was un-explainable. He wrapped an arm around her waist. She laced an arm around his neck, the atrocity of before deprived of existence. They tenderly pulled apart, not distancing.

Robin parted his eyelids to gaze into her amethyst eyes. Her expression was competely reassured. Through the tendrils of lust, Robin embraced her in his arms, parting his lips to taste hers. The moment came gratefully, she wasn't hesitant in returning her kiss, until realization hit her.

She jerked her head way from him abruptly, twisting out of his grasp and yanking his hands off her shoulders.

"Robin, stop." She commanded heavily in the process. He was taken aback.

"What?"

"No, I can't. I mean, I love you Robin, but… Starfire's my best girl friend. My only friend at that." She pursed softly. He stood back.

"Raven, I love you. Starfire won't come between us, I promise." He yeilded.

"She already has." Came a voice behind them. They jerked their heads in that direction. There was Starfire's silent sillhouette, alledgedly goggling at them.

"Star?" Robin hissed. Starfire stepped out of the shadows and into the dimly lit corridor.

"Yes, friend. It is me." She replied.

"Look, Star, it's not…" Raven began.

"Do not worry, Raven. It is not your fault, from what I see. I believe you are my faithful friend. I honor your decision." Her impromptu came strong. "That you chose being my friend than Robin's boyfriend. It is Robin my anger is aimed at for the moment."

"Star, no, I…" Robin started.

"You said you love my best friend. She admit she loved you too, I've seen everything. But I know that Raven is the only person I can trust." Starfire closed her eyes, her head stiffly held down.

"Starfire, it's my fault too. And I'm sorry. Robin, I… can't do anything right now. Starfire's my only girl that's a friend and I can't deny it. And I'm one hell of an idiot to betray her. I'm truly sorry, Starfire. But I was wrong to come between you guys. You're more in love than Robin and I will ever be." Raven whispered in reply.

"No. Raven, I love you. Starfire's not going to come between us. Here or not, I need to know, do you feel the same way about me?" He asked, standing, fists loosley clenched, his mask directed towards Raven.

"No," She whispered. With that, the dark telekinetic tendrils of her power swallowed her in the shape of an eagle, teleporting her elsewhere. In her opinion, anwhere was better than there.

"I don't even have a name for this joint, and I'm already getting calls." Dante spoke to himself. He'd done the small repairs he could in the time of the two birds dissapearance. He felt a nagging pain in his emotions, an upright feeling he never had before for the dark mage.

Dante didn't even admit it to himself. He felt something he longed for in Raven. Her karma, her peronality, her body… he felt his thoughts trying not to conjure that he had, no doubt, admired her beauty.

She had the demoic blood. At least sombody of my type, Dante thought. He swung his trademark red cape over his body, draping familiarly over him. He snatched the rebellion in his hands and twisted it over his back, where it hung loosley over it. He pocketed his armed pistols, Ebony and Ivory.

Dante had business to take care of. The memoir wisp of family befell him as he stepped into the outside of his shop, the underworld creatures no longer there. He hesitated. Just seconds ago, through the glass of his shop, there were the udnerworld creatures with their scythes roaming outside his shop, in search of the son of Sparda demon.

Until realization hit him, the familiar Yamato Katana planted itself in front of him. Dante smirked, not even flinching as the blade sunk into the ground before him. Vergil.


	4. Chapter 4

Raven's eyes were filled with hatred and sadness, her expressions dancing along the two emotions, circling them feverishly. Raven had faint hate towards Starfire. But temptation wasn't needed. Raven and Starfire had been friends ever since the beginning of the team, and Raven knew that Robin was in love with Starfire.

No comings or goings were going to interrupt them. Raven had teleported to the city, far from the moment she knew she would break down and cry. She rubbed her eyes viciously as she blindly strolled down the sidewalk, her hood down, showing her long purple hair and violet eyes.

The streets were empty of the day's inhabitants, and she felt the cold crisp air brush against her cheek. She flickered open her eyes to hear the faint clash of sword against sword. She glanced at her surroundings throroughly. She found she was near Dante's shop.

The alleyways were unwelcoming, the intersection longing to leave existence. She was definitely on the corner of Dante's agency. She stealthily crept around the corner, in hopes of seeking Dante at his fighting work. Instead, there lay the two demonic twins, silver hair, swords swinging against each other, pure hatred written all over ther faces.

Dante was barley tiring as he clashed his sword against his brother's, his strength beginning to evaporate. He felt an unfamiliar presence, and took a swift glance around, the streets empty of anybody except the two of them. He sensed…someone else watching them.

At the moment, Vergil took advantage by attempting to thrust the Yamato Katana into his brother's torso, but it was stopped by Dante swinging his own Rebellion in a wide arc, cutting off his. The crustatious hatred sprung between them once more.

"What do you want with all that power, anyway?" Dante quirked.

"To rule this realm. To have all that power, to be a son of Sparda is a gift. Too bad you see it your father's way." Vergil broke way, and Dante's sword was flung out of his grasp. The rain threateningly came, the rain boring down on the two of them. Vergil's hair lost it's spike, and fell, for the moment, Dante and Vergil had every reason to be seen as twins.

Dante retrieved his sword, only mere inches from his wrist and swung it in his brother's direction. Vergil blocked it. Dante returned several swift series of stabs in a swift succession. His brother blocked every single one of them.

"No!" Raven shrieked from her position at the corner. Both demons glanced at her, their stance still helt stiffly.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Dante demanded. He blocked Vergil's attempted swing of the Katana. "Get out of here!"

"Dante!" Raven hollered through the thunder that echoed across the city.

"I said…"

"I won't!"

"Get…" Dante blocked a series of stabs of Vergil's Katana. "Out…"

"Dante!" She yelled, all three of them aware that her powers don't affect demons. A birdarang ricochet off Vergil's sword. They quickly glanced at the street, where Robin stood alledgedly solo. Nobody else was with him.

"Damn it, what's is with you guys?" Dante managed, cradling the handle in his hand and thrusting it into Vergil's torso. Vergil was thrown back with the force, but quickly recovered, the Katana swinging inches from Dante's head. "Get out of here!" He demanded, swinging the Rebellion in a wide arc.

Robin sprang from his perch and retrived two birdarangs, which changed into a long slender sword. Vergil turned around venemously and thrust his Katana into Robin's. Raven felt helpess, watching the three fight. Dante twisted his sword to use his free hand to shove Robin out of the way.

Vergil yeilded his sword, then Dante attempted to thrust his brother in the heart, but Vergil narrowly jerked to his side, the sword missing him by inches, then thrust his Katana into Robin's shoulderblade.

Robin hollered, writhing in agony, then he fell to his knees, the blood dripping in handfuls. Vergil watched with satisfication, until Dante's rebellion slung across the Katana, knocking it out of Robin's shoudler. Robin shuddered, clutching it, teeth tightly clenched.

"Robin!" Raven shrieked, holding her head stiffly down. Vergil used the same technique of handle to Dante, cradling the handle of his Katana to thrust it into Dante's torso. His force threw Dante back, and Dante retrieved his gun, aiming it mercilessly towards Vergil.

But he dodged all several of them, curling back and aiming his fist into Robin's face. Robin cringed, then weilded his sword single-handedly. With fury, Robin swung his sword swiflty at Vergil. He took the moment, and Vergil slicked his sword across Robin's chest.

Robin reeled back, the scar had cut through his clothes and more blood was dripping. He fell, losing more pints than he thought.

Vergil wheeled back to face Dante. He was standing stiffly, watching Robin fall. Dante charged, the sword dragging on the pavement. He widley attempted to pierce Vergil, but he blocked it, and they came face to face, the swords scratching at each other.

Wordlessly, Vergil unexpectedly twisted back, and thrust his Katana forward with force, and it threw Dante's Rebellion back, flung away from his grasp. The Rebellion landed yards away, but that left Dante unarmed.

Vergil thrust his sword into Dante's heart. Dante hunched over the sword, its edge blood covered, protruding from his back. Vergil's Katana had clearly reached its fate. Vergil jerked the sword out of him, and Dante threw his head back, the pain to much.

Vergil reached out and snatched the ruby pendant from Dante's neck. As he fell back, the chain ripped apart, the chain severing in two. Vergil now had both pendants, both power. And all he needed.

Dante grimaced, turning his head slowly to gaze at the beautiful mage. She was yelling Dante's name, yet he could barley hear it. His eyes fell to Vergil, who turned around, and thrust the Katana back into Dante's heart. That was all that Dante saw left.

Raven's eyes widened with fear as Vergil jerked the Katana out of Dante's heart for the second time, Vergil glancing at Raven. The Katana still in hand, he approached her widely, and her powers were abruptly useless.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She hollered, but the tendrils of telekinetic power surged through him like smoke.

"It's not going to work, Raven. The portal for the Temen-ni-gru is needed, and I will kill you, wether you like it or not." He twisted the Katana so its bloody edge faced her.

"No!" She backed away, the edge glinting against the faint moonlight. "You don't have to do this!" She shrieked as she felt the brick wall against her back.

"It's the only way. You're part demon, Raven. You have to live your destiny. You will always be known amongst your history as a mere portal, from the moment you opened your eyes to the moment I closed them. A footstool, the demon's puppet. You have the capacity, Raven. The power to do what fate's fantasies play out for you. Your day is now." Vergil tightly clenched the Katana in his hand.

Robin lifted his head, hearing his statements. A gasp of fear was emit from her lips, and he weakly watched Vergil approach her. Robin clenched his teeth, and snatched the sword beside him, feeling the blood pour out. He didn't care.

A pained groan escaped Dante's mouth, and his eyes split open meekly, his heart burning with vein. Something else stronger than the unrevealed emotion awoken him. His cyan eyes glazed over to Vergil approaching Raven.

"No, bastard." Dante's chest surged with pain, but he stood up, feeling the demonic blood course through his veins. Nobody was going to die tonight.

The rain was still in process, the thunder echoing in the distance, and the lightning streaking across the sky.

Vergil walked over to her, in wide strides, his eyes showing no expression, as if a mask hid the real one.

"Azarath Metrion Zin…" Raven's voice grew faint. What was happening?

"Azarath Met…" Her chakra was causing too much pain. She glanced up at him, he was near.

"Az..a..ra..th." She couldn't even speak. Robin fell to his knees, clutching his chest, he was lost too many pints of blood, it gave him his all to stay with eyes open. The devil trigger was working its way through Dante's blood. His eyes were flooding with vermillion, the red overtaking the iris, his pupils shrinking.

Vergil was there. He was standing at lovers distance between their faces, Raven's eyes closed tightly, shutting back the tears. The burn stung at her heart, the yeilding pain scathing against her will.

"Don't," She whispered. Vergil wordlessly held the sword up above him, the Katana glimmering in the moonlight. Robin fell to his stomach, glancing up at them, the blood encircling him in a pool. He was on the verge of dying. He gazed back at them, one hand outstretched.

"Raven!" He whispered. Vergil brought the sword down with force, and his final attempt was with without mercy. Dante's breathing abruptly stopped, intaking a breath, the demonic blood flooded him.

Vergil thrust the sword through her heart. The moment lingered on, the Katana's edge proturding from her back. The blade pierced right through her. The deadly essence unspeakable. Raven lurched forward, her eyes closed, her hands wrapped around the blade in front of her.

She opened her eyes to see the moon tucked in between the clouds. A tear fell from her cheek.

"I'm sorry," She whispered. Vergil twisted the sword out of her heart, and she fell to her knees, her vision blurring, the light ebbing away, darkness condensing in front of her.


	5. Chapter 5

Arkham stood silently on the corner, clutching the red book loosley in his hand. He watched the simple-minded demon girl die, the portal for the Temen-ni-gru. That was all he knew her as.

"My time will come as well, Vergil." Arkham murmured.

Vergil stood back and watched with satisfication as she fell to her knees, her eyes dimming to a dead ebony. The lightning illuminated the sky, the thunder streaked a wave of noise across it.

Around them, the telekinetic raven sprung out of the ground, darkened with streaks of red, fire burning in its eyes. The lifeless Raven closed her eyes, and below them came a steady rumble beneath the concrete.

Vergil remained still. Below them, came the similar symbols when she served as Trigon's puppet. The symbols outstretched and diminished, followed by the persistent hiss of Raven being swallowed by her portal.

Her body illuminated, then vanished without a trace. The portal grew larger, devouring the buildings around them. The telekinetic raven shot skyward, and the Temen-ni-gru began to arise.

The cement sprouted the tower, the hell that was bound to come. The portal strewn streaks of blood colored power around them, and the Temen-ni-gru rose, parked cars setting off, lamposts threwn.

The cement parted more, the portal dimming to hell's color as the tower finally scraped the atmosphere. The Temen-ni-gru was revived.

The portal began to fade, along with the telekinetic raven, yeilding a loud screech that scraped their ears, and it diminished, the remnants of Raven finally gone. Robin's body dimmed, surrounded by the ebony power, and the telekinetic vaguley vanished.

Vergil felt a humorless grin tug at his lips, and he didn't even surpress it as he felt the unwanted presence.

Dante's fist clenched absently, and his eyes ripped open, the red gleaming in them. Teeth clenched, he stood up, the Rebellion held, the veins in his wrist throbbing. Vergil didn't even whirl around as he heard Dante approach, the sword clanging against the pavement.

"Arkham," Vergil muttered. The man clad in black, the scar across his face, the loosley clutched book, approached, striding swifly past Dante. "Her part is complete. Let's go." Vergil demanded.

At that attempt, Dante charged forward, his red eyes flashing, the burn's intensity flaring. Dante thrust the sword toward's Vergil's heart, but they vanished, thinning into the air. They teleported into the Temen-ni-gru.

Dante shut his eyes, the burn vanquishing. His threw his head back, and from his lips came the shriek of the demon, coursing through the night. Teeth clenched, sword in one hand, he strode over to the Temen-ni-gru, rising above him greatly. The large alcove entrance loomed above him. He had one hell of a long way.

Robin's fist twitched, and his face twisted with pain. The portal had an effect on everybody within arm distance of it, to Robin, it gave him life. His clothes were different as well.

They consisted of a dark jacket with no a shirt under, his sleeves cut off rigorously at his shoulders. He had gray gloves with open fingers, his knuckles padded with thick material. He had gray pants, a darker shade than his gloves. Then came his shoes, similar to his old ones, except the metals weren't clearly visible.

His eyes were still beneath his mask. His eyes split open, the wounds were no longer present. He effortlessly stood up, holding his hands in front of him to stare at his palms, and he acknowledged his new look.

"What the hell?" He murmured without a trace of surprise under his breath. The memoir of Raven's death flooded back to him, as his gaze fell to the Temen-ni-gru. "Raven," He whispered. The silence drifted through the air as the moment lingered on, her thoughts ricochet off the past.

A whisper of movement reached his ears from behind him. Robin whirled around, facing the dreary empty street. His peripheral vision caught a shadow slide into the alleyway.

"Hey, you!" He sprung forward, feeling light without the weight of his cape. The alleyway was unsurprisingly dark, only the sky's light looming above him. He crouched slightly, still striding forward, retrieving a birdarang from his silver belt, in one hand.

His mask narrowed, his eyes trying to catch the slightest hint of movement. There was a silent scuffle, and a repressed breath. Robin stood up from his crouch, and outstretched a hand. He heard a surpressed gasp as he felt somebody's long hair, presumably a girl's.

The girl twisted around, still invisible in the dark, Robin heard a click of retrieving a gun. He could barley make out the barrel in his face. He jerked his body away, hearing the bullet sear past his neck as he twisted back.

"Damn, what the hell is your problem?" Robin exclaimed angrily as he blindly snatched the gun in her hand. But this girl knew what she was doing. She used her free hand to thrust it into Robin's torso, forcing him back.

The tactic was sucsessful, and she retrievied control over the gun, and aimed it at the misshapen lump on the ground, Robin.

"Wait," Robin demanded. The girl exhaled sharply. "Who are you?" He queried. She didn't answer. The barrel still aimed at him, she sidled out of the alleyway and into the street. With the dim light, Robin managed to pick out her figure, slim, dark haired.

He could see she was wearing ebony boots that stopped at her ankles, black shorts that was from her waist then covering less than a mere quarter of her thighs, a leather shirt that had sleeves cut off at her elbows, her stomach exposed, and dark gloves that stopped at her wrist.

He couldn't make out her face because her back was turned to him, and she sprinted out of view. Robin sat comtemplating.

"Who the hell?" He hissed, when his communicator cackled to life. Then the tense face of Beast Boy, Cyborg and Starfire filled the screen.

"Robin? Dude, where the hell are you? There's a load of crap going on here, we got a report about some tower coming out of the ground, get your ass over here?" Beast Boy angrily shouted.

Robin wordlessly shut the communicator. He had an explanation to give.

The girl gunned down the Cerberus, and it obidiently fell, dead of Dante's fight and her current one. The three headed mutt gave one final grunt of dissaproval, blood pouring out of its paws. The dog was very much larger than her, but was the guardian of the door to enter the Temen-ni-gru.

The dog vanished in a sapphire flash, and the red doors behind him were not in the least welcoming. The girl had business to do with the Temen-ni-gru, bring down Vergil and Arkham.

The girl was aware of what happened to the demon portal, and she held a grudge against it. She closed her eyes, her encounter with Robin eariler she couldn't bear. She'd nearly killed him, she hadn't intended to. The eerie silence droned around her, and she pocketed her gun in the belt of her shorts.

The girl had personal affairs to deal with when she would assassin Vergil, for past revenge. This girl contained no special powers, only lacked it. She glanced behind her, reassuring her that Robin wasn't following her.

She stiffly turned back to the red doors, and strode forward purposefully. She was going to kill Vergil.

"So Raven was…killed?" Cyborg inquired. They were in the T-car, drifting over to the Temen-ni-gru.

"She did. Vergil killed her, she served as the portal for the Temen-ni-gru, and that was her fate all along. Not just as Trigon's puppet." Robin whispered.

"No! I will not accept it. There is a way to bring her back. She may be out there still, without her powers." Starfire strongly declared.

"There's no hope, Star. Raven's dead this time. Not only did she die from the portal, Vergil had a sword through her heart." Robin concluded.

"Raven," Beast Boy whispered from his corner in the car. "She can't be dead. It's impossible. She has to be out there."

Even imagining Raven dead was unthinkable, impossible. When the day came, it was something beyond insane for Robin. The past years they'd fought together, her disdains, her presence. The atrocity, her humor, her laughter…her eyes.

Robin knew he'd never forget them. From the beginning, he had strength beyond hope, fantisizing that they'd be fighting from the beginning to the end. He never thought it would end like this.

He should have…

_The sun was setting, her surroundings casting a lingering tranquility. Her violet eyes were closed against the horizon, which was flickering with a blend of a hazy orange, and a bright yellow. _

_The ocean itself wasn't progressing it's daily tactics, its surface smooth and still. The heavy contemplation had an effect on the inhabitant behind her, somebody she wasn't aware of his presence. _

_Robin was admiring the same view, the ocean free of its usual antics, the whisper of air shrilling through the air, performing it's lullaby. His gaze fell to the beautiful mage, whose eyes were still closed. She was sitting at the tower's edge, her feet dangling off the side. _

_Robin felt his lips curve upward in a smile for her expense, and he stealithily approached her, a smug expression splayed across his face. He stopped at arm's reach from her and knelt down. Leaning forward until he was inches from her ear, he parted his lips to speak. _

"_Hey, Raven," He exclaimed loudly. Raven broke out of her trance and her violet eyes abruptly split open, her sophisticated manner diminishing. She accidentally shifted, and she lost grip of her position, beginning to fall off her perch to her grave meters down when she felt two arms support her across her stomach. _

"_Robin, you jackass!" She ambitiously hissed. Robin gave a shrill of laughter and obidiently pulled her back. He playfully swung her to the floor next to him and he pinned her to it, triumphantly on top of her. _

"_Come on, I'd never let anything happen to you." Robin placed a hand on the floor inches from her head and used it to support him up. _

"_Get off me!" She attempted to twist out from under him when he spoke. _

"_Tu es la femme de mon coeur." His lips protruded the slang of a French person, perfectly slipping out in correct pronounciation. Raven held her nose in disdain. _

"_What? What the heck is that supposed to mean?" She hissed venomously. _

"_I'm sure you'd like to know," Robin's witty banter lingered ni the air. _

"_Well, I'm not a fan of French poetry, but get the hell off me before I do it myself." She growled._

"_I'd like to see you do so." Robin teased. That provoke was just too much. Raven's eyes dimmed to a dark ebony, and her chakra trembled. Tendrils of telekinetic power threw them apart, and Robin lay sprawled on the floor a few feet from her. "Damn, that actually hurt," He said with no expression. _

"_Yeah? Well it should have. Next time, try to avoid your future death wish." Raven spat. _

"_Come on, Raven. I was just kidding." He supported himself up propping his elbows on the roof. With a huff, Raven strode across, then down the darkened stairwell that led back into the tower. _

_Robin grimaced. He should have…_

He should have kissed her. He had the upper hand, the capacity. Tu es la femme de mon Coeur.

"Robin?" Starfire's voice eerily cut off his thoughts. He irritably glanced back at her.

"What?"

"Are you well?" Her emerald eyes held no expression.

"I'm fine, Star." He murmured in reponse, turning back to the window.

"There has to be a way to bring her back, there always is." Beast Boy claimed soflty.

"There has to be," Cyborg muttered.

The girl strode past the carnage of the demonic creature, and she outstretched her arms and heaved open the sapphire doors in front of her. The rush of air flew past her, the scarlet midnight moon still lingering above her.

She was already near the top of the tower, rain streaking across the sky. She strode over to the edge and dared a glance down. It was at least a mile down, yet she didn't feel the adrenalin she would have felt a few years ago.

She retrieved a pistol from her belt and armed it with silver bullets. The revival of the Temen-ni-gru made a temporary time linger, the midnight moon hesitant above the tower. The civilians and inhabitants of the city were in fright, stunned to approach the tower, terrorizing what seemed to be a tower looming above them.

The girl's long hair down to her waist wavered in the wind. She recalled the few compliments she'd received a few years ago, her past associates claiming when she was without a stern expression, she was rather beautiful.

A certain associate reminded her of everything else. His certainy, his bold attempts to charm her, his jet black hair. With him on her mind, she recalled everything else, being the past vigilante she used to be.

Being the heroin. Her encounter with her associate, Robin. Her appearance, she couldn't let him endear. She closed her eyes for a moment of tranquility. She split them open abruptly, her dark, violet eyes. She was Raven.

Robin set foot on the Temen-ni-gru's higher floors, the wide doorway jutting above him and the team. Starfire and Beast Boy had flewn the team to a higher level, which was all the could go, since the flying demons were too deangerous to elongate the fight any further.

There were two swordsman guardians of the door. They weren't ordinary swordsman. They were demonic shaped creatures, with no heads, and larger than humans. One was a hazy red and the other was a deep blue.

"Look, brother, a guest." The blue one quirked.

"Well, yeah. Guardians?" Robin weakly introduced.

"Gatekeepers, actually." The red one replied. Their voices were identically deep. "My name is Agni," The red one introduced.

"And my name is Rundra." The blue one responded.


	6. Chapter 6

"Okay, Agni, and… Runda. Is there any chance we can get through?" Robin boldly attempted. The malevolent silence cut through the air. Agni and Rundra stood up from their perch and wielded the swords in their hands. Starfire shrieked.

The heads were only on the handles of the swords, which were talking. The faces on the swords had eyes and a mouth, an their color was identical to the demonic creatures holding them, Agni was in custody of a fire scarlet sword, and Rundra was an ice wielder.

"Out purpose here is to guard this door." Agni roared.

"That's right. We cannot let you pass." Rundra chimed in.

"Titans, go!" Robin shouted, and Starfire hovered in the air, Cyborg readied his cannon, and Beast Boy morphed into a cheetah when Agni and Rundra twirled their swords, and a display of fire and ice bound together as a wall separating the Titans from the demons.

"There is no need for fightning. Demons can pass this gate. Otherwise, for the inconvenient humans like you, it is only a journey only one of you can take." They simultaneously chirped.

Robin gestured to his team to stand down. This situation was what Robin thought he would never hear again. Yet it was happening, a replay of when Slade had taken Robin to see what was thought the remnants of what Raven wasn't.

"All of us are going through that gate, and we're willing to fight you for it." Robin hollered.

"It is impossible to defeat us. A girl just came past this gate quite some time ago, she was part demon. Yet she was part human, a part we cannot except. We had to make some kind of exception for her, so we challenged her to a fight. She was a master with guns." Agni explained.

The image of the girl running away from Robin flashed into the team leader's mind.

"We were challenging her to see if she was more worthy of the demon than she was of a mere human. She nearly killed me, along with my brother, but she was badly injured. Her challenge was complete, she was worthy. Yet, she didn't look in shape when she went through the door. It looks like she was on the verge of dying. We're not even sure that she would have made it ten feet past it, but she's a demon. She just kept on walking like she wasn't even hurt." Rundra concluded.

"Well, can I go or not?" Robin demanded.

"We challenge you first. Then we let you through." They responded. Robin crouched in his stance, he had an instinct, the sudden alertness he knew who the gun girl was.

Raven gunned down the demonic creature, which gave a hesitant shriek of hell from its lips. She felt his gaze on her. Dante had come up from behind.

A few moments earlier, she had gone up the pathway that led to another hallway. Sure enough, more demonic creatures were there waiting. They were efficient and surprinsngly smarter and quite the contrary of the past creatures.

They had a complicated strategy, their tactics becoming more and more successful. The fight raged on, and her maneuvers of her pistols were losing. A creature threw its scythe to attempt to jerk her off her feet. She fell to her knees, her head colliding with the concrete wall behind her. She was helplessly in a corner.

A dog-like creature lunged forward and sunk its teeth into her wrist, causing her to let go of her pistol. She retrieved a revolver from her belt and aimed it at its head when the dog suddenly sprang forward, snatching the revolver from her grasp, cutting it in half with its teeth.

She jerked her foot into its face, and with a yelp, it scampered down the hall. The remaining taller creatures cornered her, blocking any possible escapes. She was out of weapons. She glanced at the pistol that had fallen a few feet from her, and she scrambled for it, the creatures were too fast.

Her eyes gazed back up to see the scythe cutting the air and maneuvering towards her face when the familiar Rebellion blocked it. And there was a flash of the famous trademark vermillion cape, and there stood the silhouette of Dante.

His cyan eyes flickered with interest as he lashed out with his right foot, sinking it into the creature's face. He retrieved his own pistols, Ebony and Ivory and he gunned down the encircling demons of her.

He felt a tripmphant grin flash across his face as he eyed the beautiful girl when the final creature fell. Raven's back was turned to him, hiding her face swiftly. She mightily wished for a hood.

"Well? Can I get a thank you?" Dante airily inquired. Raven didn't respond as she swiftly retrieved her pistol and pocketed it. Without a glance, she continued down the hallway. She felt his burning stares.

A hand gripped her shoulder from behind.

"Raven," He finally spoke. Raven's eyes widened, then she turned around, curiosity in them.

"You…"

"I know who you are. I know exactly. Raven, you don't have to hide from me." Dante gently replied.

"Dante…I," She felt weak, and she felt an intense burn triggering a tear from her eyes. "You don't…"

"I do. I understand your past. In the underworld, you knew deep inside you had something stronger than rage inside you, lurking with hell's tower. Your demon, your reflection, something you always held in demise. And it was kept in it, restraint. When you released the portal, you released your inner self, the demon that unleashed the tower."

Raven held her head stiffly away, her eyes closed.

"And you inner demon is standing in front of me right now. With every moment, every memory, it's still the same Raven. But your demon is unleashed, the telekinetic power gone, but the ability to become what you've held back all these years. You don't have to hold back. It's who you are." Dante concluded.

"Don't you get it? If I ever let you or Robin know it's me, the demon, Robin has faith, Dante. He always knew there was a chance of hope, a twist in everything boud to happen. And I believe him. But Vergil is a devil. And with Sparda's power unleashed, it's unstoppable."

"Robin will do anything to save me, bring me back to the Raven I was before. I'm a living dead girl, and being his normal self, Robin will do anything in his power to murder Vergil, but he's no challenge for him. Vergil will kill him, Dante. He'll even kill you." Raven whispered. "And I'd rather Robin never see me again and live a semi-normal life better than me knowing he's dead."

She felt the burn searing through her. Her purpose was to murder Vergil, and the Temen-ni-gru will sink back into the underworld, never to rise, Vergil with it. What her fate would be when the underworld closes, she didn't care.

She knew that when the underworld portal closed, not a trace of the Temen-ni-gru, she would go with it, her demon gone, the last remnant that would ever exist. For the first time, Dante felt pity for her as her violet eyes glanced at him.

"Raven," He reassured. She laced her arms around him in an embrace. Dante was momentarily shocked, until he found himself wrap his arms around her. They gazed up simultaneously, and he was at loss in her violet eyes, she, pondering in his sapphire. Dante bent his neck so his forehead was against hers, and she accepted it.

Raven tilted her head, and Dante did the same, when instincts triggered him to lean in. Raven did the same, and they parted their lips. They pressed againt each other. Raven swallowed her tears back, feeling the maudlin emotion surge through her.

Dante's tensed fell at ease as his lips were pressed against hers. He ran his tongue against the edge of her lips, suggesting entrance, and Raven parted her lips. He eased over to the wall, and he pressed her back against it gingerly.

They broke apart, still embraced in each other's arms. They inhaled savored breaths. Dante softly ran his lips against her neck, and she pulled him closer. He glanced up at her and they pressed their lips against each other once more. Dante gently held her wrist in his, and snaked his other arm around her waist.

It was simple. They both belonged to the underworld, part demon, part human. They weren't two hybrids, they were two devils. Raven recoiled playfully, and Dante gave a devilish grin, and they pressed lips again.

The demeted rumors embedded into stone about Dante in legends were invisible through Raven's eyes. She caressed the back of his neck with her hand in slow strokes, and he immediately deeped the kiss lavishly.

That was when Raven felt the cold stares of another inhabitant other than themselves. She swiftly broke away from him and danced her eyes down the hall, where a familiar silhouette stood.

His mask bore down on her, and she instinctively gazed away, a effect she didn't think he had. He strode forward.

"Dante?" He queried, gesturing over to him. Dante angled his body so it cast a shadow over her. "The girl…"

"Is nobody you know." Dante firmly concluded. "How'd you get up here?" Robin inquired. From down the hall, came a loud blast of a door heaved open. The three of them tensed. Dante reached behind his back and retrived his pistols, and without hesitation, he handed them over to her.

"You'll need it." He informed.

"Thanks," She muttered in approval, greatful for his agility. Then came the rush of the demonic shaped creatures, lumering from both directions, armed with scythes and agile crossbows.

Robin retrieved a birdarang and hurled it down the hall. Dante wielded his sword to cut off the deep gash that would have been his fate if he hadn't thrown himself backward. Raven turned her back to the two of them, lashing out Ebony and Ivory, Dante's guns and gunned down several of the demons in vital injuries. She had to make an escape.


End file.
